Bitcoin Surges Past $84,000 on Regulatory Relief

Bitcoin surged at the start of the week to its highest level since January, after key US financial regulators moved to ease investor uncertainty. The price of Bitcoin advanced 4% to $84,671.80, according to Coin Metrics.

The rally was fueled by short covering and broader risk appetite, with more than $300 million in short Bitcoin positions liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass.

Regulators took steps to regulate cryptocurrency rather than waiting for Congress, reducing perceived regulatory uncertainty. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened a temporary path for platforms to let people trade tokenised stocks, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed crypto market rules to the White House.

The momentum is part of a week-long advance in broader markets, with bonds and stocks rising. However, traders are not convinced that the gains will extend over the longer term, citing difficult macroeconomic conditions.